Qi Shan hurried over.
From far away, he recognized Shen Tang among the four at a glance.
He also saw the grief and pain on her face as she looked at the ruins.
He couldn't help slowing his pace.
His steps grew smaller and smaller until he finally stopped two zhang away from Shen Tang, quietly waiting for her to question him. Qi Shan believed he had to bear some responsibility for Shang Nan Commandery's losses. If he had been more vigilant, perhaps his liege wouldn't have seen devastation everywhere when she arrived. His liege was so thrifty that she couldn't stand even the slightest waste, let alone the destruction of a prosperous administrative center.
It had taken only a day, perhaps even half a day, to destroy it. But restoring it to its former glory would take an unknown amount of blood, sweat, and tears.
Half the population of Shang Nan Commandery had gathered here.
More than half the settlement had been destroyed, leaving all those people homeless.
A cold wind laden with dust howled above the ruins. It took Shen Tang a long while to come back to herself. She had sensed Qi Shan's arrival the moment his aura appeared; she just didn't understand why he hadn't come over. Since he wasn't moving, she didn't move either, and the two of them quietly tested each other's patience.
In the end, Shen Tang moved first.
She turned and called out, "Yuan—liang?"
The moment Shen Tang's gaze fell on Qi Shan, her voice cut off. Bai Su and the others saw a blur before Shen Tang flashed right up to Qi Shan and grabbed his sleeve. The right sleeve was empty. Shen Tang felt as though a hammer had struck her head, leaving her thoughts in disarray. It was as